Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 19
Posts 11 - 19

Geek Mythology: Apps such as Snapchat show it's the medium that's the message

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Newspaper | The Independent
Date | 7.5.2014
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | sexting, Snapchat, threat, youth
Summary | Snapchat seems to be designed specifically for sexting because all sent photographic material auto-destructs itself after a few seconds. These would ensure that one's nude images do not get distributed further. Snapchat however has a 'best friend' function which displays to everyone with whom users exchange the most snaps - this would be a hinderance in maintaining a clandestine sexting relationship. Also, teenagers use Snapchat most and surely not all of them sext. After all, only because the medium faciliates a specific activity does not mean that it will be used in that way.
Image Description | Photograph of a smartphone, held by a hand, video calling a group of people in a restaurant background.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), male(s), smartphone

Hysteria Over Sexting Reaches Peak Absurdity

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Newspaper | The Atlantic
Date | 10.7.2014
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | law, sexting, threat, youth
Summary | The law’s classification of juvenile sexting as child pornography is illegitimate. Puts emphasis of legal prosecution on distinction between consensual vs. non-consensual sexting. Non-consensual sexting may then be seen as harrassment or exhibitionism in which case a restraining order could be issued rather than putting the minor who takes explicit pictures of him- or herself in prison and on the sex offenders list. The need to update child pornography laws to exclude consensual sexting among minors became very clear in a Virginia case where the police wanted to photograph a 17 year old suspects' erect penis for court evidence.
Image Description | Close-up photograph of a male-persons groin are with the genitalia covered by the hands.
Image Tags | hand(s), male(s)

La letra, con ‘smartphone’, entra

(The letter enters with smartphone (pun with "la letra con sangre entra"))

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 27.10.2014
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | grammar, research/study, social media, spelling, texting, threat, youth
Summary | Spelling and grammar are having a hard time in today's society; there seems to be too much lenience with regards to writing rules, which may be due to an incorrect use of new technologies. People should know when it is appropriate to use a specific register. It is okay to write a text message with abbreviations as long as users are able to change register and adapt their writing in an exam for example. A professor in Valladolid claims that handwriting as opposed to digital writing can be the solution to spelling and grammar mistakes. Social media and the way we write on those networks have a major impact on our writing skills. A study showed that the mistakes young people make in their writing assignments come from our habit to constantly write quickly and be spontaneous on social media. Those mistakes are mostly due to a lack of attention. The study also showed a positive aspect: with social media, we write more.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of four young people using their smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), male(s), smartphone

No imprta q este scrito asi

(It doesnt matter how its written)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 19.3.2014
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | abbreviations, language threat, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | A study in France demonstrated that text message characteristics have no impact on spelling skills. If you child texts using a lot of emoticons to replace words, or mispells certain words, it doesn't mean he or she is going to make more spelling mistakes in a writing assignment. He or she might even master spelling rules better than someone who doesn't text. Young people play with language and know when it is appropriate or not to use text message characteristics. However, some people disagree and think that texting can have a negative impact on spelling skills, the Spanish language, and calligraphy.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of young girls sitting and using their smartphones, and photograph of someone (hands) texting.
Image Tags | emojis, female(s), hand(s), smartphone, text

Dear Doc, :-(

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 18.1.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, texting, youth
Summary | Physicians report that their children who are away at college frequently text them to ask about symptoms such as throat aches or send them images of their swollen toes, turf burns, or their roommates' rashes. Given the fact that today's teenagers conduct an increasing amount of their social interactions over their smartphones, it is not surprising that they would seek medical counsel through that medium as well. Hospitals are already looking into possibilities of diagnosing certain ailments via digital communication in order to expand medical coverage to remote areas.
Image Description | Illustration of a smartphone taking an x-ray of a foot.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone

Napthine government to introduce sexting laws

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Newspaper | The Age
Date | 21.8.2014
Language | English
Country | Australia
Topic Tags | law, sexting, threat, youth
Summary | The Australian Naphtine government wants to loosen child pornography prosecution laws to exclude non-exploitative consensual sexting among minors. The reason for this change is that young people’s careers can suffer because they got placed on the sex offenders register for sexting while underage. Minors who distribute intimate imagery of a peer will still be prosecuted but not land on the child pornography offenders list for life.
Image Description | Photograph of two face less female bodies using a smartphone. Only torso and hands are visible.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), smartphone

Does quitting social media make you happier? Yes, say young people doing it

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 21.9.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, Facebook, social media, technology-free, youth
Summary | Interview with young people who decided to quit social media; they explain why. They mostly talk about deleting their Facebook account and how better they feel now. Some of them report feeling less depressed, happier, free, more productive, and enjoying meeting their friends face-to-face. Having a Facebook account was a lot of pressure for them; they didn't like the idea of having to report everything on the platform, to read articles they were not interested in, or to wait for other people's approval or "like".
Image Description | Series of three photographs: close up shot of hands holding smartphones, Snapchat icon, and Twitter app.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone, Snapchat, Twitter

Wegen WhatsApp – Jungen fehlt Gesprächsstoff

(Young people don’t have anything to talk about because of WhatsApp)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 3.8.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | WhatsApp, youth
Summary | Young people in Britain and Switzerland spend more time using WhatsApp than actually meeting with their friends. Because all personal news can be shared on WhatsApp much more conveniently than face-to-face thanks to group chats, young people run out of things to talk about when they actually meet. Most young people however become critical of their new media use once they have spent a few years on social media and start optimizing their online activity.
Image Description | Photograph showing hands holding smartphones.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone

BTDTGTTSAWIO – das FBI erklärt Slang

(BTDTGTTSAWIO – the FBI explains slang)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 19.6.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | abbreviations, childhood, texting, youth
Summary | The FBI has published a list of social media/messaging app abbreviations which helps them in their hunt for criminals and which could help the broader public to keep an eye on their children. Some of these abbreviations are: SOMSW (someone over my shoulder watching), NIFOC (naked in front of computer), and BTDTGTTSAWIO (been there, done that, got the t-shirt and wore it out). The FBI’s publication has been criticized for being irrelevant because these abbreviations are rarely used.
Image Description | Photograph of a hand holding a smartphone and texting. Photograph of a hand holding a smartphone and texting.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone, text

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